


The Fall

by atheistj



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-09 15:56:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5546213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atheistj/pseuds/atheistj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben didn't turn to the dark side without any reason. Ben is raised by Han and Leia, who are trying to deal with becoming parents and being in a new relationship, while also trying to rebuild the Republic. </p><p>What happened between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Conceive

The days after the Battle of Endor were anything but peaceful. The Empire was a dictatorship ruled by fear, but it kept the stability nonetheless. There were planets still loyal to the Empire, some that remained neutral, and almost all of them were falling into chaos after the destruction of the order they had become so accustomed to. There had always been a number of planets that secretly supported the Rebellion, but all of them knew that if they Empire did fall, a new order would have to rise up, and it would be up to the Rebellion to create it. They tore down the old world order, so they would have to rise up from the ashes of the Empire and begin anew.

The work had begun immediately after Han, Leia, and Luke left Endor. They had all been whisked away to deal with a crisis in different corners of the galaxy. Leia went to Coruscant. Much of the Empire’s supposed government was based there, and citizens had begun executing members of the Empire in the streets. This could not be tolerated. Other systems would not be convinced to build a new government with them if they believed people loyal to the Rebellion were savagely executing anyone who had ties to the Empire. Han and Chewie took the Falcon to Bakura with an army of Rebels. The Ssi-Ru had used the chaos after the fall of the Empire as an opportunity to invade Bakura. Luke went to Lothal, a planet where one of the strongest Empire settlements was located. He believed they needed to be dealt with quickly, or their influence over other systems would spread.

Leia, for her part, had managed to quiet down some of the anarchy in the streets of Coruscant. It had been decided by her, and the rest of the Rebel leaders, that it would be Coruscant where their new government would be based. The Old Republic was based there. It was only fitting that democracy would begin again on the same planet. The Rebels faced controversy for stopping the executions of those loyal to the Empire. Some thought them to be hypocrites. They tore down the Empire, yet know they were protecting its members. But they could not allow people free reign to murder who they please. Every member of the Empire had the right to stand trial. Without equal opportunity under the law, there would only be chaos.

The Senate building used in the time of the Old Republic had been destroyed years ago. The building used for the Imperial Senate under the Empire stood in its place. Leia agreed with many others that using the Imperial Senate building would not be appropriate. She herself had gone to many Senate meetings in that building, while spying for the Rebels. She stood by as they pretended they were some kind of democracy, when it was the Emperor who made every decision. She could not create a new government in the same place where all of them worked under a dictator. They all elected to build a new Senate building, one that would hopefully stand for many years to come.

Leia left the meeting with her colleagues after this decision. She remarked to Admiral Ackbar on her way out that perhaps they should stop referring to themselves as “Rebels” now that the Empire had fallen. She stepped into the airspeeder waiting for her and headed back to the apartment she had been staying in. All she could think about was what needed to be done the next day. A government would not build itself in a day. This would take years. She always knew it would come to this. It was a strange feeling to have everything she was working towards for so long, but it seemed like the work had only just begun. She wondered if her hair would start getting gray.

When she arrived at her apartment, her mind was still on the meeting she would have the next day. It would likely be about how they should go about bringing other planets in to their new order, one of the most difficult tasks they faced. This was still on her mind as she opened the door.

“Princess!” C3PO greeted her as she walked through the door. He had come with her to Coruscant while R2D2 had gone with Luke. “I should tell you now that—”

“Not now 3PO,” Leia said with a wave of her hand. “I need to get some rest.”

“But Princess, I do think you’ll want to know this—” C3PO continued.

“Unless the Empire has already risen from the ashes, then it can wait,” Leia said as she entered her kitchen. When she looked up, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Han stood there, leaning on her counter with a grin on his face.

“Now, I’m offended,” Han said. “You’d rather know about the Empire than whether the man you love is alive or dead?”

Leia’s mouth dropped. She couldn’t believe Han was standing there. Last she heard, they weren’t going to be finished on Bakura for days, if not weeks. She had tried to push her worry for him out of her mind, knowing he could handle himself.

“I was trying to tell you, Princess.” C3PO came up from behind her. “Han Solo is here.”

“Thank you 3PO,” Leia said. “Now I want you to go stand by the front door and close down until I wake you up.”

“You’ll not be needing me?” C3PO sounded almost offended.

“ _No_ ,” Han and Leia said at the same time.

“Well, okay. Goodnight Princess, and you too Captain Solo,” C3PO said and turned around to head for the front door.

Leia hadn’t looked away from Han since she first laid eyes on him. He looked fine to her. She felt like breathing a sigh of relief now that he was safe on Coruscant and not fighting with the Ssi-Ru on Bakura. From what she could tell, he was fine. No injuries. He only looked tired.

“What happened?” Leia asked him. “We thought the invasion on Bakura would last at least another few days.”

“So did we,” Han said. “We managed to hold the Ssi-Ru off in the capital for a few days, but just when we thought there would be another attack, they surrendered. It took us all by surprise.”

Leia raised her eyebrows. That was certainly a surprise, but she would take the small victories when she could. “What of the Bakuran people?” she asked. “Will they join us in the establishment of our new government?”

Han grimaced. “The Bakuran people…have chosen to remain neutral.”

“ _Neutral_?” Leia asked, shocked. “We send them troops to fend off an invasion, and they won’t back us up against the remnants of the Empire?”

Han took a few steps forward and put his hands on both of her shoulders. “They believe that when the Rebels dismantled the Empire, we created chaos, and caused the Ssi-Ru to invade Bakura.”

“I suppose they’d rather still be living under that dictatorship,” Leia snapped.

“Leia.” Han brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “We both know it’s not that simple.”

Leia closed her eyes and took a breath. Han was right. This was not simple. Politics were never simple. The Bakuran people may have been living under a dictatorship, but they still felt safe. With the Empire gone, their sense of safety was gone as well. That was why they needed to reestablish a government as soon as possible. They could not allow everyone in the galaxy to feel unsafe. Any setback just felt exhausting. But she knew this was not the only thing that was bothering her.

“You’re right. It’s just been a difficult few days here.” She reached up and held his wrists. It was nice to be in his arms again. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Hey,” Han said and held her chin between his fingers. He brought her chin up so she would look at him. He was so much taller than her. She always found that annoying. Having to look up to someone when arguing with them always made her feel like she was at a disadvantage. But she had always been shorter than everyone. “Is there something else?”

Leia bit the inside of her cheek and glanced down. There was something else, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it.

Han lowered his voice. “Is this about what you told me after Endor? About…your family?”

Leia closed her eyes. She hated that Han knew exactly what she was thinking. After they had destroyed the second Death Star, she had told him that Luke was her brother. That night on Endor, after the celebration, she took him aside and told him what she had left out. Her father. She had no idea how Han would react. Vader had tortured him, frozen him in carbonite, hunted them all like animals, and that wasn’t even half of it. She was expecting him to be shocked. His expression barely changed when she told him. He sat in silence for a moment before he finally said, “If I even considered not being with you just because of who your father was, then I’d be the last person you should be with.” Leia almost cried when he told her that. The idea of losing Han because of her family was too difficult to even contemplate. She, Han, and Luke had decided that, for now, no one else needed to know of their heritage. It would only hurt their goals as they moved forward. Not many people would be willing to listen to the children of Darth Vader.

But keeping it all inside was not easy for Leia. It was strange to keep this secret. She wondered if the people she worked with would look at her differently because of whom her father was. Would she even be allowed to continue as a part of their new government? She didn’t know. She had no idea how she was supposed to react to the news that Vader was her father.

Leia looked up at Han again and gave him a small nod as an answer to his question.

“Well, of course that’s on your mind,” Han said. “It’s not something you find out every day.”

That got a small smile out of Leia. “No, it’s not,” she said. “It’s just that…he never knew me, and I never knew him. And what he did to us…I have no idea what I’m supposed to feel.”

Han brought his hands down from her face. “No one would know how to feel in your position,” he said. “Have you talked to Luke about it?”

“No. After Endor, there wasn’t any time to talk,” she said. “He went to Luthal and I came here.”

“He’s who you should talk to about this,” Han said. “He’ll understand exactly what you’re feeling. He has known longer than you after all.”

Leia nodded. That was true. She hoped she would see Luke again soon. They had only seen each other for a short while during the celebration on Endor. She still didn’t know the full story of what happened on the Death Star. She just knew Vader and the Emperor were both dead.

“Let’s go sit down,” Leia said. She didn’t want to stand in her kitchen anymore. She needed to get off her feet. Han followed her to the living room, and they both sat down on her couch.

Han scooted close to her and put his hand on her shoulder, stroking her with his thumb. “I missed you,” he said quietly. Leia rarely saw Han look so gentle. She could tell the days they spent apart were just as difficult for him as they were for her.

“I know,” she said with a smile. He smiled too at their small tradition.

Han reached his hand up and put it against her hair. “Will you let your hair down?” he asked her.

During the day, Leia usually wore her hair up, as professional looking as possible. She remembered on Endor, when they were staying with the Ewoks, Han at one point had leaned over and whispered that she should wear her hair down more often. He was giving her the same look now. Leia reached up and began letting out the tight braids in her hair. Han watched her as she went along, taking in each movement and every piece of hair that dropped.

When all of her hair was down, Leia thought she looked like a mess. When her hair was in braids for so long, it came out curly and difficult to brush. But when she looked at Han, she felt anything but messy. He was staring at her and drinking her in like this was the first time he had ever seen her. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. Leia closed her eyes and let him explore her hair, missing the feeling of him.

Han leaned forward and closed the gap between them, kissing her. Leia responded immediately, wrapping her hands around his neck and kissing him back. It had been too long since they had been alone. They had spent so long running and fighting the Empire that they had never even gotten the chance to actually experience a relationship together, and everything that it entailed. Han was not Leia’s first, and she was well aware that she was not Han’s first. But it didn’t matter. She just wanted to be with him. After so many years of fighting, she wanted some relief.

When Leia crawled into his lap, Han put his hands around her back and held her close. She could tell he was already losing his patience. Neither of them had ever been the patient type. It wasn’t long before Han put his hands under her legs and lifted her up, carrying her down the hall. Leia made an attempt to point to her room to let him know where to go while still kissing him. This proved difficult, and he kept stopping to push her up against a wall. But Leia was not going to have their first time be in a damn hallway, whether he liked it or not.

Finally, after much encouragement from Leia, they made it to her bedroom. Han set her down on the bed and began undressing her. She reached up to begin tearing at the buttons of his shirt. The bottom two buttons popped off but she didn’t care, she pulled the shirt off of him just as he was about to pull her dress over her head. She lifted her arms to help his task and he tossed the dress to the side. Leia pulled herself back towards the pillows and watched as Han worked on the button of his pants. Her breathing was labored. They had waited far too long to do this.

Han kicked his pants away and crawled towards her on the bed. He pressed his mouth to hers again, and she felt him begin to pull off her underwear. She wriggled around him to help, not wanting to wait any longer, and tried to pull off his underwear as best she could. But their height difference felt even more extreme when he was on top of her like this. She let out a huff in frustration. She could hardly reach down to finish undressing him.

“Need help with that, Princess?” Han whispered against her neck in a teasing voice. He chuckled as he pulled his own underwear off. Once he was naked he put two fingers inside of her. Leia gasped at the sudden contact. She felt herself giving all the power to him and allowed him to pleasure her with his fingers.

When she heard him chuckle again, Leia suddenly felt a surge of annoyance at his words and shoved his shoulder. Han was taken off guard and was easier to push off. He pulled his fingers out and, despite being so much smaller than him, Leia managed to maneuver herself on top of him using her legs. Now she was on top. Han smiled up at her, not complaining about the switch of positions, and let her taken control.

Breathing heavily, Leia leaned down to kiss him again before she sunk herself onto him. They both gasped as he entered her, staying still for a moment so they could both adjust. After a few seconds, Leia started to move and the noises she heard from Han were unlike anything she had ever heard. She was making her own embarrassing noises too, not ones she would want anyone else to ever hear.

Leia brought herself back up into a sitting position, continuing to move. Han put his hands on her hips encouragingly. They had both been with other people before, but this was something different. Leia already knew this was the best she ever had.

After a minute of Han lying down, he suddenly shot up into sitting position, coming face to face with Leia. He didn’t try to turn them over; he just put his hands around her back and moved with her.

“Finally…” Leia panted. “I was doing all the work.”

Han laughed under his breath but continued to move with her. Leia wondered if teasing each other in bed would become the norm. They did tease each other everywhere else so it wouldn’t be surprising.

She could tell she was close, and based on Han’s breathing, he was close too. Leia buried her face in Han’s neck. He surged upwards again and Leia moaned as she found her release. Han followed soon after her, not being able to hold out much longer than she could. They didn’t move from their position. They were both sweating and breathing heavily, but Leia was happy to have the relief she was looking for.

“Thank you,” Leia said. She pulled her face from Han’s shoulder to look at him.

“For what?” Han asked.

Leia leaned forward and placed a small kiss on his mouth.

 _Everything_.


	2. News

Luke had not returned from Luthal. The Empire base there was holding stronger than they predicted it would. It had been over a month since he first arrived on the planet. Leia wanted to join him in ending the Imperial settlement there, but she knew her place was on Coruscant. Things were not getting any easier where she was either. Luke contacted them as often as he could, but his news was always the same. Both sides were not backing down. He would lead another attack the next day. The same news over and over again began to wear on Leia. She never imagined that disbanding one Empire base after the fall of the Empire would be so difficult. Han had wanted to join Luke on Luthal, but Leia told him he couldn’t. He was needed elsewhere. They couldn’t send all of their best troops to one place, not when there were problems in every corner of the galaxy.

She sent Han to Florrum. He fought her on that decision. Florrum was a planet crawling with pirates. Leia knew very well that Han had connections there, but he also had enemies. She was hoping he could find some support for the New Republic there. If the pirates would join with them, they would have better numbers in their fight against remaining Empire loyalists. Han agreed to go on the condition that Lando went with him. Leia remembered the words “If I’m going down for all the scams we pulled, you’re going down with me” when he told Lando he was coming with him. They left over a week ago.

Leia returned to her apartment after another day of debating the rebuilding of the Republic. She wished Han was there waiting for her like he was a few weeks ago. Part of Leia hated that she had to remain in Coruscant while her friends were off risking their lives on dangerous missions. But she knew what they were doing on Coruscant had to be done. They tore down the Imperial Senate building. Many of the citizens of Coruscant gathered around to watch as it happened, and cheered as it was brought down. A new Senate building, the Senate of the New Republic, was being built in its place. Leia appreciated the symbolism, but a new building meant nothing if they could not bring together the neutral systems or those still loyal to the Empire. Members of the New Republic were dispatched to other systems to negotiate and try to bring them in. Most of politics was a waiting game. Her father taught her that.

_My real father._

C3PO was in the kitchen making her something to eat. It was great to have him around. He may have been a droid, but he was still company, and he always knew exactly how to cook her dinner. The benefits of having a memory drive she supposed. C3PO chatted while she nodded her head in response. As the days went on, she felt more and more tired. It was difficult to keep her eyes open all the time.

When C3PO was finished making her dinner, he put it on a plate and set it in front of her. Leia looked down at the food. It was the same food she usually had, meat with a side of vegetables. She always enjoyed it when 3PO made this for her. He had become quite the chef. But as she looked at the food now, she suddenly felt queasy, and the look of it made her feel something coming up her throat.

Leia threw her hand over her mouth and bolted up from her chair.

“Are you alright prince—” C3PO started but Leia was already sprinting down the hallway towards the bathroom.

When she reached the bathroom door, she flung it open and threw herself towards the toilet. Immediately her stomach began to unload. Anything that she had eaten that day was coming up her throat as she expelled it into the toilet. She could hear the horrible sounds she was making and only felt more disgusted. C3PO’s footsteps were approaching. She probably scared the hell out of him when she ran off like that, but she wasn’t done with the discharge from her stomach.

“Goodness gracious!” C3PO cried when he was standing at the door and saw her kneeled over the toilet.

Leia was able to stop for a moment and look up at him.

“Princess, are you alright?” he asked her, concern apparent in his voice.

Leia spit out what remained in her mouth. She felt like she was finished. She flushed the toilet and went to the sink, wanting to clean out her mouth.

“I don’t know…” she said. She cupped water from the sink in her hands and drank it, rinsing out her mouth. “I haven’t been sick like that in a long time.”

“I’m going to call a doctor!” C3PO said. “They’ll be here right away!” He walked out of the bathroom.

Leia looked at herself in the mirror. She looked as pale as a ghost. There were bags under her eyes from exhaustion. The last thing she needed right now was to be sick. She didn’t have time to be sick. It’s not like she could take the day off from work. She left the bathroom, wanting to sit down, and saw C3PO standing there.

“The doctor is on his way!” C3PO said. “Please sit down, my lady. You must rest.”

Leia had no interest in arguing. She sat down on her couch and put her feet up. C3PO tended to her while they waited for the doctor. He always was a worrier. She was surprised he hadn’t offered to call Han, but there was no reason to worry him. If he knew she was sick, he might see that as an excuse to come back from Florrum. She knew he was not having any fun there. Luke would worry too, but this was nothing to be concerned about she was sure. The last time she remembered being so sick was when she was young. Her father had held her in his arms as the medical droid poked at her. She didn’t like droids then, but her father made her feel safe.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. The great thing about medical droids was they never took too long to arrive. C3PO walked quickly to answer the door. She heard the sound of a droid’s voice when he answered.

“Where is the patient?” a robotic voice asked.

“She is over here,” 3PO’s voice answered. She heard their footsteps as they approached her.

Leia looked up to see the face of the medical droid. It stepped in front of her.

“The report said that you are experiencing extreme nausea,” the droid said.

“Yes,” Leia answered. “I haven’t been so sick in a long time. It came out of nowhere.”

The droid came closer to her. “I’m going to take a blood sample,” he said.

“Yes, of course.” Leia held out her arm.

The medical droid took out a needle. Leia flinched as the needle was placed in her arm. He drew out blood before removing it, and then tied a cloth over the open wound. The droid pulled the syringe inside its arm and seemed to be examining it inside its database. Leia waited patiently until he was finished. After a moment, he seemed to have an answer as he removed the syringe from his arm.

“You are pregnant,” the droid said.

Leia stared, her eyes widening. _Pregnant? No…that couldn’t be._

“That can’t be right,” she said to the droid.

“Your nausea was due to your pregnancy,” the droid continued. “It is likely that you will experience this sickness for a few more weeks.”

Leia was starting to breathe heavily, not able to believe this was real. “How…how far along am I?”

“Five weeks,” the droid responded.

 _Five weeks._ She hadn’t been with anyone else of course. This baby was Han’s.

“The medical center will provide you with the proper treatment,” the droid went on. “For now, I can give you a shot of trimethobenzamide to help ease the nausea.”

Leia paused, still trying to take this in. “Yes…I would appreciate that.” She held out her arm again.

The medical droid took out another needle and gave her a shot. Then he seemed to prepare to leave.

“3PO, show him out,” Leia said.

“Yes, my lady,” he said.

Leia sat there and tried to take in what just happened. She was having a baby; there was no denying that. Her exhaustion over the last few days suddenly made sense. She was experiencing her first symptoms. There was a part of her that felt a joy. She was having a _baby_. Ever since she was young she had wanted to be a mother. But with the Rebellion and now rebuilding the Republic, she didn’t know if that could ever happen. Now it happened by complete accident. She had no intention of getting pregnant when she and Han were together weeks ago. They should have been more careful…

How would Han react? Leia had no idea. They hadn’t been together long enough for them to even think about discussing children. She had no idea if he even wanted to be a father. They weren’t married. They were at the beginning of their relationship and now they were going to be parents. And how could she possibly handle being a mother while trying to rebuild the Republic? There were too many questions.

The biggest question of all of them hung over her head.

_Will my baby have the Force?_

She knew she had it. She had used it on a few occasions, sometimes without meaning to. Luke had told her once that the Force was strong in their family. The idea of her baby having that power was terrifying. Though the power was amazing, it was also dangerous. The temptation of the Dark Side was always there. Luke had faced it himself. But what scared her most of all was what would scare anyone else who found out.

She was carrying Darth Vader’s grandchild.

Leia brought her hand to her belly for the first time since she had been told she was carrying a baby. There was joy mixed with fear in this news, and she wasn’t sure which one overwhelmed the other. All she could do now was accept the reality. A baby was coming.

“3PO,” Leia called.

“Yes, Princess?” C3PO entered the room. He had been standing near the doorway, probably realizing she needed a few moments alone.

“I need to sleep,” she said. “But I want you to contact Han on Florrum. Tell him that I need him back here as soon as possible. Tell him that it’s urgent.”

“Yes, my lady,” C3PO said.

Leia got up from the couch and headed to her room, still holding her hand on her stomach. Han would come back as soon as he heard her message. This news couldn’t wait.

 ~~~~*****

She was right. Han didn’t take long at all to arrive. The next morning, she had another episode of nausea and spent the time she usually spent eating breakfast kneeling over the toilet. By the time she was finished getting dressed, she heard a knock on the door.

“Leia!” she heard Han’s voice call from the other side of the door. “Are you still here? Is everything okay?”

She could hear the worry in his voice. She jogged to the door, anxious to see him. Every fear imaginable was coming to her head. It was time. Soon he would hear the news and she would see his reaction. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared.

When she opened the door, her first impression was that he looked exhausted. She wondered when was the last time he slept. It dawned on her that when he got 3PO’s message, he traveled straight here with no sleep. She felt a pang of guilt for worrying him so much, but her message was the best way to get him back as quickly as possible. She couldn’t keep this news to herself.

Han stepped into her apartment and put his hands on her shoulders. He scanned her face, looking for a sign that something was wrong. “Are you _okay_?” he asked with panic in his voice.

“Yes, Han. I’m okay,” Leia responded.

Han brought his mouth down on hers. Guilt hit her again for causing him so much worry.

He came back up from the kiss. “What was so urgent? Is it Luke?” he asked, worry still apparent in his voice.

“No, it’s not Luke,” Leia said and bit her lip. “Close the door. I need to talk to you.”

Han furrowed his brow, confused, but he did as she asked and closed the door. Leia turned around and walked into the living room. Her breathing was starting to become labored. The night before, she tried to practice in her head how this conversation would go, but it was impossible to gauge his reaction. Once again, she brought her hand to her belly, looking for comfort. She sat down on the couch and waited for Han to join her.

After a moment, Han sat down beside her and looked at her, waiting for her to answer all of his questions and worries.

Leia scanned his face, knowing she needed to be the one to speak. “Something’s happened,” she said.

Han leaned forward, a look of concern still on his face.

“Han…” Leia said. She swallowed and scanned his face, preparing herself for his reaction. “I’m pregnant.”

Leia held her breath as she watched him. A wave of emotion seemed to wash over Han’s face. He sat back on the couch. It looked like his breathing had started to pick up the same way hers did. She waited for him to say something. He stared forward for a few minutes before he finally turned to look at her again.

“That’s wonderful, Leia,” he said.

A wave of relief crashed over Leia and she felt like crying. This was the second time she had taken him off guard with news and he had responded perfectly each time. She was reminded of why she loved him so much. Tears were stinging in her eyes and she buried her face in Han’s chest, feeling his arms wrap around her.

“I’m so happy to hear you say that,” Leia said into his chest. She felt so much weight fall off her shoulders.

Han chuckled. “Well, of course it’s not what I was expecting, and the timing isn’t ideal, but Leia…” He pulled her back up so he could look at her. “Before you, I had never met anyone I wanted to have children with, but then you happened, and I thought ‘yeah…maybe I could.’”

If Leia wasn’t mistaken, she saw tears in Han’s eyes too. She leaned forward and kissed him, so happy that she was carrying his child. Despite all the challenges this would bring, she had Han, and they could do this together.


	3. Realizations

Leia was alone in bed. Han tried to stay with her on Coruscant as much as possible, but he was often needed elsewhere, and she encouraged him to go. Whenever he left, he contacted her every time he got the chance, and she would tell him the same thing every time. She was fine, and he need not worry about her. It had been three months since she had given him the news. Her pregnancy was starting to show. A bump was visible. When hiding it was no longer an option, she told the rest of the council of the New Republic that she was expecting a child. They were all happy for her, and there seemed to be no negative repercussions.

_That might change if they knew who the baby’s grandfather was._

She still hadn’t seen Luke. He was finally able to overpower the Imperial base on Luthal, but the New Republic could not spare him. When he finished one mission, he was sent on another. Leia had wished to tell him of her pregnancy in person, but after a while, she couldn’t keep it from him anymore. Two months into her pregnancy, she contacted him and told him. He was very happy for her, but even when he appeared as a hologram, Leia could see the apprehension on his face. She was sure he was having the same concerns she had when she first found out, but he said nothing about them and only congratulated her.

Luke would finally be coming the next day to see her. He managed to get some time away, partly because of exhaustion, but she knew he wanted to see her and speak with her, and that was his foremost reason for coming to Coruscant. She knew this was necessary. Luke was the only one she could discuss this with. Han had no real understanding of the Force, and no one else even knew of the possibility that her baby could have the Force. It was a relief that he was coming so she could finally get some of her anxieties off her chest. Not to mention how much she missed him.

It was strange sometimes to think of Luke as her brother. She had been an only child growing up on Alderaan, but there was always something between her and Luke. It wasn’t something she could have explained, but from the first moment she saw him, she felt like she knew him, as if they had met before. She never said anything about it, but on Endor when he told her that she was his sister, everything suddenly made sense. The realization that Vader was her father was horrifying, but finding out that Luke was her brother, and that she was not alone, was reassuring.

Leia felt her eyelids grow heavier as she thought of Luke. She would finally see him the next day after so long apart. She longed to hug him, to see his blue eyes and sweet smile, but she was afraid of what he would say about her baby, and if she was ready to hear it. Her thoughts were on Luke as she drifted to sleep.

*****

 _Shhh_.

There was a whisper in her room, though Leia could not bring herself to open her eyes. She was so tired…

Suddenly she felt something on her leg, like a hand, but it was cold and hard. It worked its way up her leg. Leia still could not open her eyes. The drowsiness she was feeling overwhelmed her. She could not bring herself to move either as she felt the hand continue up her thigh. Her thoughts turned to Han. He was the only one who would touch her this way, but this wasn’t him. It didn’t feel like him, and he was far away. Who was touching her? Her eyes still wouldn’t open. She was too tired to feel afraid.

The hand moved past her midsection and finally came to a stop, right over her belly. Leia did feel afraid then. Who was this? Who was touching her in such an intimate place? Right over her baby. The hand pressed harder on her belly. She felt its nails digging into her skin, almost as if it was trying to force its way in and pull her baby out. Leia suppressed a scream, finding that she still could not move. The hand clutched at her belly even harder.

 _Mine_.

Leia’s eyes flew open and she shot up in her bed, her arms flailing around her, ready to push someone away. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized she was alone. There was no one in her room with her, no one touching her. Her breathing was wild as she brought her hand to her belly protectively, still scanning the room for any intruders. She knew that no one could break into her apartment. The building she was staying in along with the rest of the council members had the highest security possible. She had only been having a nightmare, but she could swear that the hands on her were real.

Leia closed her eyes and tried to slow down her breathing. Then she felt something else. Leia gasped and looked down at her belly. The feeling was quick and unfamiliar. She ran a hand over her stomach. After a few moments, she felt it again. This time, she knew what it was.

Her baby was kicking.

*****

Leia practically sprinted to the door when she heard a knock the next morning.

“My lady in your condition you shouldn’t be—!” C3PO called to her as she ran by him.

“I’m fine, 3PO!” Leia called back. When she reached the door, she threw it open and Luke was standing there. Leia could have cried just from looking at him. Before either of them said anything, she pulled him into a hug and felt his arms wrap around her back. She felt herself grinning as they held each other. Despite her trepidations about their inevitable conversation, seeing Luke was like a breath of fresh air. His presence breathed warmth into her life. She always loved that about Luke. The way kindness radiated off of him.

“It’s good to see you, Leia,” Luke said into her hair. She could hear the smile in his voice.

“You too, Luke,” Leia said quietly.

Finally, they pulled away from each other. Leia looked at his face now. The first thing that struck her was that he looked tired. This was not surprising considering the New Republic had been sending him to every corner of the galaxy to deal with the aftermath of the fall of the Empire. Leia was grateful for this, but she did feel some guilt. She also noticed that his clothes were different. The last time she saw him, he had been dressed in all black. Now his clothes were white and she saw his lightsaber hanging on his hip. She looked up at his face and saw that he was looking at her as well, but not at her face. His eyes were on her belly. The bump was visible in what she was wearing. She tried to read his face, but couldn’t make out his feelings.

“Let’s sit down,” Leia said.

Luke’s eyes snapped back up to her face. A smile was on his lips again. He nodded and closed the door behind him.

When he followed her into the living room, C3PO was there to greet them.

“Master Luke! It is so wonderful to see you alive and well!” C3PO said cheerfully.

“It’s good to see you too, 3PO,” Luke said with a grin. “Has your time with Leia been boring without me?”

Leia chuckled and sat down on the couch. Luke sat down next to her.

“I wouldn’t say boring, sir,” C3PO said. “A break from the adventures has been nice.”

“I imagine,” Luke said.

“May I ask, sir, is R2 with you?” C3PO asked, a tinge of worry in his voice. “It has been a long time since I’ve seen him, and I’d like to see if he’s alright.”

“He’s doing great, 3PO,” Luke reassured him. “He’s outside waiting with my speeder if you’d like to go catch up with him.”

“That would be marvelous!” C3PO sounded relieved. “If it’s alright with you, my lady?” He directed his question to Leia.

“Of course, 3PO,” she said. “Go see R2.”

“Thank you, my lady!” C3PO exclaimed and rushed to the door.

Luke and Leia sat silently until they heard the door close behind C3PO. Leia was relieved 3PO had asked to go. She didn’t want this conversation to be interrupted, and didn’t want anyone to listen, even a droid.

A moment after the door closed behind C3PO, Luke turned to look at her. “I’m surprised you’re not at a meeting with the New Republic.”

Leia met his eyes. It seemed they would start with an easy topic. “I asked for a day to myself when I learned you were coming,” she said. It was the first time she recalled ever taking a personal day in her entire career.

Luke nodded. “How is everything coming here?” he asked. “The rebuilding of the Senate?”

Leia sighed. “As well as can be expected,” she said. “We had many systems stand with us against the Empire, so we were able to bring them in to the New Republic fairly easily, but there are still systems which choose to remain neutral, and systems that were loyal to the Empire. They are, of course, more difficult to bring in.”

“What is your position in the new Senate?” Luke asked.

After the destruction of Alderaan, Leia lost her position as senator, but the rest of the Senate still wanted her involved so they gave her a new position. “I’ve been named Minister of State,” Leia said.

Luke nodded. “They’ve made a wise choice,” he said. “I’m happy for you.”

“And you?” she asked him. “The New Republic seems to have sent you on every available mission.”

Luke shrugged. “I was happy to do it,” he said. “These problems aren’t going to fix themselves. Someone had to go and actually deal with them in person.”

“You must be exhausted,” she said.

“I am,” Luke said honestly. “But this is what we fought for. Democracy. A New Republic. If that means I have to go on some missions to salvage what’s left of the galaxy, then it’s worth it.”

Leia wanted to hug him again. His resolve to help their cause was inspiring, but she still wished that he didn’t have to be the one to try and fix everything.

_Perhaps that’s the way of the Jedi._

“You’re right,” she said. “It is worth it.”

They sat in a tense silence for a moment, the elephant in the room starting to weigh on both of them. Leia wasn’t sure if she would have to be the one to bring it up first.

“So how are you feeling?” Luke asked, gesturing to her belly.

Leia let out a breath, relieved that he was the one to broach the subject. “I’m doing fine. I felt the baby kick for the first time last night,” she said. She chose not to tell him about her nightmare. There was no reason to worry him.

“That’s exciting,” Luke said. “So is it a boy or a girl?”

“We don’t know yet,” she said. “I know most people find out before the baby is born, but we decided to wait.”

Luke nodded, a small smile on his face, but she could feel a nervous energy coming off of him that wasn’t there before. “Have you thought about names yet?”

“Yes,” Leia said. “If it’s a girl, I thought Breha, after my mother.” Leia smiled warmly when she said the name. “If it’s a boy, then we thought…Ben.”

Luke’s eyebrows went up. “Ben?”

“It was Han’s idea,” Leia said. “We were discussing names, and when he said Ben, we both decided that was it if the baby is a boy.”

Luke chuckled. “Han and Ben didn’t really get along.”

Leia’s mouth quirked up. “I know, but Ben died so we could get on the Millenium Falcon and get away from the Death Star. He protected us. Han knew that.”

“Ben is a great name,” Luke said. “So is Breha. I only wish I knew if it was a boy or a girl.”

“Han likes surprises,” Leia said with a chuckle. “He convinced me to wait until I have the baby to find out.”

“Well, Han never did have good ideas,” Luke said. He was joking, but Leia noticed his smile was starting to fall. Leia swallowed. They couldn’t dance around the topic any longer.

“There’s more we need to talk about,” Leia said.

Luke nodded. “Yes. There is.”

Neither of them said anything. Leia had no idea how they were supposed to start. Once again, it was Luke who began.

“It is likely…” he started and trailed off. He cleared his throat and started again. “It is likely that your child will have the Force.”

Leia nodded. “I know.”

“If this is the case,” Luke said. “Then it is up to you to decide what you want to do about it.”

Leia chewed on her lip. Without thinking, she brought her hand to her belly. “You’re asking if I want my child to be a Jedi.”

Luke let out a breath and seemed to slump over a little bit. “Your child certainly does not have to train,” he said. “And I’m not going to pretend to be an expert. I would do my best, but I’ve never taught anyone how the Force works. I feel like I’m still learning myself.”

Leia nodded slowly, her hand trailing over her belly, as if she could soothe the baby inside. “It’s not an easy decision,” she said.

“I know it’s not.” Luke looked down at the floor.

Leia let out a shaky breath. “I’m _scared_ , Luke.”

Luke looked back up at her and met her eyes. “What are you scared of?”

“What will people do when they find out my child is…is related to that…that _monster_.” She managed to get out the last words. She couldn’t even bring herself to use his title. “I don’t want my child to be cast out by anyone because of who his grandfather was.”

“No one is going to know,” Luke said reassuringly. He put his hand on her shoulder, his real hand. “The only people who know are you, me, and Han, right?”

Leia gave a small nod.

“We are the only people who need to know. You do not need to be afraid of people finding out.”

Leia continued to hold her belly, hoping her baby could hear Luke’s reassuring words.

“Leia…” Luke started. He pulled his hand away from her shoulder. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

Leia closed her eyes and took a breath. She had no idea what news Luke could possibly have for her now. She felt like if she received any more news, she would burst. Slowly, she opened her eyes to look at him.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s about Vader,” he said.

Leia tensed at the name. “What about him?”

“You need to know this,” Luke said. “When I was on the Death Star, Vader…he found out about you. He got inside my mind. I was so worried for you and Han, and I thought of you as my sister, and then he knew. He saw your face in my mind, and heard my thoughts. Leia, he knew you were his daughter.”

Leia leaned back on the couch. She hadn’t been expecting that. When Luke spoke to her on Endor, it was clear to her that Vader did not know she was his daughter, and Leia wanted it kept that way. For him to have known that she was his daughter…Leia wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about that.

“There’s more,” Luke said, bringing her back to the conversation. Leia didn’t know if she could take much more. “When he saw your picture in my head, and realized you were his daughter he…threatened you, threatened to bring you to the dark side. I almost killed him for that. I was so angry, I could have killed him.”

“And did you?” Luke had never told her what happened on the Death Star. This was her first time hearing it. She was not surprised to hear that Vader had made threats against her. There was nothing fatherly in that man.

“I didn’t,” Luke said. “I knew that if I killed him, I would have turned to the dark side, and that’s exactly what the Emperor wanted me to do, so I stopped.” Luke paused for a moment, like he was contemplating what he was going to say next. “The Emperor was not happy about this. He said if I did not join them, then I would die. He…he shot lightning out of his hands at me.”

Leia gasped. “He _what_?”

“I know,” Luke said in agreement. “I had no idea that was even possible, but he did it. He hit me with the lightning, and I knew that he was going to kill me. It was so painful…”

Leia put her hand on Luke’s back. She had no idea that he had been through such a trauma while on the Death Star.

“I started begging Vader to help me,” Luke said. “I could still feel conflict in him. I knew he wanted to help me, but he stood there so long, I didn’t know if he would actually do it.” Luke paused again before continuing. “But he did. Just when I thought I was going to die, Vader lifted the Emperor up, carried him, and threw him down a shaft.”

Luke allowed Leia a moment to let that sink in. Vader had saved Luke. She didn’t believe there was ever anything good in him, but Luke was sitting there telling her that Vader had saved his life. Saved her brother’s life.

“What he did to save me,” Luke continued after a moment of silence. “It killed him. The Emperor’s lightning went through Vader’s body when he picked him up. There was no way he could have survived. I did what I could. I helped him walk to the hangar. The Death Star was going to blow soon. People were running around, trying to evacuate, so it was easy to get there. But when he couldn’t walk anymore, it was over. I couldn’t carry him.” Luke swallowed. “He asked me…to take off his mask so he could see my face without it.”

Leia had stopped reacting. She was just staring at the floor now, but still listening.

“I took the mask off of him,” Luke continued. “And he…was a pale old man. He looked sickly, like he could die at any moment. He smiled at me, actually smiled. Then he told me to go. I didn’t want to. I wanted to take him with me. I told him I wanted to save him, and he said…he said I already had, and that I was right about him.”

Luke looked at his sister’s face, looking for a reaction. He found none.

“With…with his last words, he asked me to tell you that I was right about him,” Luke said quietly. “He wanted you to know that there was still light in him.”

Leia could tell Luke was finished, and now he was waiting for her to say something. She didn’t know what to say. This was the last thing she expected to hear. She had never seen Vader as anything but an evil dictator, but Luke had just told her that he had saved them all by killing the Emperor, that he had become good again before he died. That he wanted her to know that he became good again. She was the one Vader thought of before he died.

“His name,” Leia finally spoke. “What was…our father’s real name?” Leia knew very well that Darth Vader was a title, but she never knew his real name. No one did.

“Anakin,” Luke answered her. “Anakin Skywalker.”

Leia’s head snapped towards Luke and there was a bewildered expression on her face. “ _Anakin_?” she asked. “I…I know that name. My father mentioned him. My father knew him. He said they fought together in the Clone Wars but he told me he died along with the rest of the Jedi.”

“That’s what Ben told me,” Luke said. “He told me Darth Vader had murdered my father. He was trying to protect me from the truth. The same way your father did for you.”

Leia’s mouth was hanging open. A man she thought was dead, who was a friend to her father, was actually her biological father. She remembered the name Anakin from the many stories her father would tell her about the Clone Wars, and about the Jedi. He told her Anakin Skywalker was a great man, and a good friend. Leia’s emotions felt more clouded than ever before. There was something else she wanted to ask.

“Do you…do you know who our mother was?” she asked quietly. This was something she had wanted to ask since Luke first told her he was her brother. Ever since she was little, she had memories of her real mother, a beautiful woman with dark hair and dark eyes. She never understood how she could possibly remember her mother, since she knew she came to her parents when she was an infant, but now she knew. The Force. It enabled her to remember her.

Luke nodded in an answer to her question. “Since I last saw you, I have learned about her, yes.”

“What was her name?” Leia asked.

“Padme Amidala,” Luke said.

Leia heard herself inhale sharply. She immediately closed her eyes. She recognized this name too. Her father had talked at length about Padme Amidala, the courageous woman who fought for democracy. Some of the Rebels had considered Senator Amidala to be the first Rebel. Her father told her that she opposed the Empire from the start, but died before she could stand against it. She never knew that the brave woman she heard stories of had died after giving birth to her and Luke.

Leia didn’t realize it right away, but she was crying. Tears were streaming down her face after everything Luke had just told her. Her father, who had only ever been an evil figure in her mind, had saved her brother’s life, and insured the victory of the Rebels by killing the Emperor. Her father, who had never known her as more than a senator, died telling Luke that he wanted her to know there was good in him. Her father was Anakin Skywalker, the brave soldier she heard stories about growing up. Her mother was the senator who inspired many Rebels, including her father, to stand against the Empire and fight for democracy. This was her family…and she never knew it. Luke was all that was left of it, and a baby was coming. A baby who would have the Force, and she would have to decided if she wanted it to live the life Luke had chosen.

The tears were coming faster as Luke pulled her into his arms and held her. She sobbed into his chest. She cried for the family she never knew. She cried for Luke and the loneliness he must feel. She cried for her baby, who had responsibilities on it before it was even born. She even cried for her father.

She cried for Anakin Skywalker.


	4. The Past

“My lady, I must protest,” C3PO said for what felt like the thousandth time.

“I know you protest, 3PO,” Leia snapped. “You have protested since I told you we were coming here, but it still doesn’t change anything.”

That silenced C3PO as he landed their ship on Tatooine. Part of Leia agreed with 3PO, that she shouldn’t be here. Tatooine’s weather was unforgiving, and its people were less than welcoming. She wouldn’t feel comfortable here under normal conditions, let alone when she was pregnant. But she needed to do this. Ever since Luke had told her the name of her father, she needed to know more about him. The records kept on the Jedi were very minimal. They had been destroyed after the massacre of all the Jedi when the temple on Coruscant was torn down. There was little to be found on Anakin Skywalker. But when she told Luke of her desire to know more about their father, he told her he was from Tatooine, and even knew the village he lived in. Leia wasn’t sure how Luke had this information, but she didn’t ask.

When Luke first told her on Endor that Darth Vader was her father, she only felt disgust. In the months after she had managed to find some acceptance of the truth. He may have been her biological father, but that did not mean she had any love for him. Luke’s visit completely changed her perception. He told her things she had never expected to hear. She knew that killing the Emperor did not change the fact that he spent so long terrorizing the galaxy, but she would be lying if she said that she only felt hatred for him after learning what he did. What she felt now was gratitude. This feeling is what led her to Tatooine. She couldn’t stay long, not when she still had duties to attend to on Coruscant, but she had waited months after Luke’s visit to do this. She needed to do something for herself.

Leia put her hand on her belly and began to stand up. One of her guards, Hal, moved to help her. He took her arm as she lifted herself from her seat. Leia felt the weight of being over eight months pregnant. Her approaching due date was one of the many reasons C3PO had discouraged her from coming to Tatooine. She didn’t even tell Han where she was going. He wouldn’t like it. As far as he knew, she was still safe on Coruscant.

“Thank you,” she said to Hal when she was on her feet.

He nodded at her. “Ready to head out, my lady?”

“Yes,” she said. She looked behind her. “Come on, 3PO.” She waved him over. His language skills would be of use to her on this planet.

C3PO followed her and Hal as they exited the ship. Leia was immediately struck by the heat. This was not her first visit to Tatooine. She recalled arriving here less than a year prior. They had all come to this planet to save Han from Jabba. The planet looked exactly the same. The heat was constant. Nothing ever changed on Tatooine. She wondered how Luke managed to live here so long. It seemed so miserable. Absently, Leia thought of her own planet, Alderaan, and its beautiful scenery and calm weather. It was a stark contrast to Tatooine, which was bleak and beating hot. She had dressed appropriately for the conditions. She wrapped her shawl around her head and continued forward, heading into town, C3PO and Hal on her heals.

“My lady, may I ask,” C3PO started. “How do you intend to find any information on Anakin Skywalker?”

Leia bit her lip. She had informed C3PO what they were looking for on Tatooine, but left out the part about Anakin being her father. They had all decided to keep that information away from even droids. Though few people knew Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader, it still felt risky to tell anyone about their parentage. She contemplated his question. Truthfully, she wasn’t exactly sure what she would find on Tatooine, or if she would find anything. For all she knew, anyone who ever knew Anakin on this planet was long gone.

“We’ll have to ask around I suppose,” Leia said. “It’s a small town. If anyone here knew him, we should be able to find them.”

The town was small. Leia took note of the buildings; most of them were only a story high. The houses looked cramped. A few of them seemed to be underground. The people in the town looked hard-edged and guarded. A number of them took note of her and her companions as they walked by. She imagined they didn’t get many people coming to visit. She tried to picture herself living here. There were children, she noticed. She wondered if she would have been able to bear the bleakness of this place. If she could have woken up every morning and made it through each day. She was accustomed to a more comfortable lifestyle living on Alderaan. Living on Tatooine would have been almost the opposite. But Luke and her father had both lived here. She supposed she could have done it as well.

The best place to go to find people who wanted to talk was a bar. That much seemed obvious to her. She entered the first one she saw. Hal and 3PO came in after her. She scanned the room. There were creatures of all kinds in the bar. Some she had never seen before and could not name if she was asked. A few of them looked at her when she entered. She realized that she looked like someone of importance, with her droid and a guard standing next to her. Perhaps that was going to be a problem.

“Wait outside,” she said to Hal. She would tell 3PO the same, but she might need him in case of a language barrier.

“My lady, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Hal said, his eyes on a few creatures at the bar.

“I’ll call for you if I need you,” Leia said. “And I can handle myself.” Leia pulled her cloak to the side a bit to show him the blaster at her hip.

Hal hesitated for a moment before nodding and stepping outside.

Leia turned to look at the bar patrons again. Her eyes searched for anyone who looked older. Her father was on this planet when he was young, which was over thirty years ago if her math was correct. No one of the younger generation would have any idea who he was, so her eyes were on the older customers. She approached the first one she saw, a humanoid sitting at the bar by himself. He had a beard and looked to be in his sixties. He seemed like a reasonable first choice.

When Leia sat down next to him, his head immediately snapped over to look at her with suspicion. “What do you want?” he asked.

Leia supposed the residents of Tatooine were not the most polite folk. She tried to put on a smile. “I’m looking for information on someone.”

The man still eyed her questionably and took a sip from his drink. “I don’t know why you think I would know anything.”

“He was here a long time ago,” Leia told him. “He left as a child. His name was Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker.”

The man seemed to think about it for a moment, but then he shrugged. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

Leia sighed. “Thank you for your time.”

The conversations she had in the bar all went the same way for the next hour. C3PO translated when he needed to. More residents trailed into the bar, and she would ask them if they had any information, they all said no. A few of them tried to swindle her out of her money, recognizing her as someone who came from wealth. Leia was beginning to get frustrated. It’s not as if she thought this would be easy, but she was never one for patience. By the time another group of customers walked in the door, she was about to give up hope. But she approached one of them anyway, her determination outweighing her pessimism.

The creature she approached was a Dug. She could tell he was older by its height. Dugs tended to get smaller as they got older. When the Dug sat down at a table, she sat down across from it, earning her a surprised look.

The Dug said something to her in Huttese. Leia looked at C3PO.

“He wants to know what you want,” C3PO told her.

“Tell him the same as the others. I’m looking for information about someone from this planet,” Leia said.

C3PO translated her words to the Dug. The Dug looked her over. He, like everyone else she had met, was suspicious. He barked out a short phrase.

“He asks ‘who?’ my lady,” C3PO translated.

“Anakin Skywalker,” Leia said to the Dug.

The Dug’s eyes immediately widened and Leia thought she saw a flash of anger in his face. She leaned forward automatically. She swore there was a look of recognition in his eyes. After being told no by so many, she was ready to hear a yes.

After a moment, the Dug said something else in Huttese. Leia looked at C3PO urgently.

“He said he wants payment for what he knows, my lady,” C3PO told her.

Leia sighed. She should have expected as much on a planet like this. “How much does he want?”

C3PO translated and the Dug gave him an answer.

“He wants five hundred credits,” C3PO said.

Leia gritted her teeth. Under normal circumstances, she would refuse. But she was getting desperate. She took out the money she had and counted it. When she had five hundred, she put the coins on the table. The Dug reached out for it, but Leia covered the money with her hand to stop him.

“Information first, then you get your money,” Leia said.

C3PO translated and the Dug made a disgruntled noise but leaned back in his chair and nodded his head in agreement. Leia gestured for him to start talking.

The Dug said quite a bit in Huttese. Leia wished she could understand what he was saying and didn’t have to rely on C3PO. She was surprised by how much he was saying. The dug must have known him personally. When he was finished, Leia looked at C3PO for his translation.

“He says that he knew Anakin Skywalker when he was a boy. He was a slave here with his mother. He says he crossed paths with him many times. Skywalker defeated him in a pod race, which the Dug is still upset about he tells me, and won his freedom. That was when he left.”

Leia sat back in her chair. _A slave_. She had no idea Anakin had been a slave. She was aware that slavery had been prominent on Tatooine for generations, courtesy of the Hutt clan and many others. Jabba had kept her as his slave for a time when she came to rescue Han. It was so dehumanizing. She couldn’t imagine a child having to go through the humiliation of being owned by someone. When Luke told her that Anakin had lived on Tatooine, she assumed her had been a farmer with his family. She never would have thought he was a slave.

“Can you tell me about who owned him and his mother?” Leia asked. Surely she could find more information about him by the person who owned him, though Leia hated the idea of speaking to a slaver.

The Dug barked out a few sentences and raised his hand to point out the door.

“He says his name is Watto and that he still lives in town. He owns a junk shop a block away from here,” C3PO told her. “He says it is that way.” C3PO pointed in the same direction the Dug did.

Leia put her hand on the money again and pushed it towards the Dug. “Thank you,” she said to him and stood up to leave.

C3PO followed her out and they met Hal outside.

“I was starting to worry,” Hal said. “Did you find what you need?”

“Not everything, but we have the name of someone who can help,” Leia told him. “He owns a junk shop a block over. Come on.” She set off past the bar and in the direction the dug told them to go.

She was still reeling from the news that her father had been a slave, as well as her grandmother. It was odd to think that she had grown up a princess, people waiting on her hand and foot, while her father had been a slave, forced to do the bidding of his owner. Slavery had always disgusted her, and she found it disturbing that it still existed. When Jabba had kept her as his slave, she felt violated in every way possible. The idea of feeling that every day gave her the worst kind of chill despite the boiling heat.

Her hand went to her belly as she thought of this. Her child would never have to face the degradation of slavery. Her child would never have to know what it’s like to be owned by somebody. She would never allow that to come to her baby.

The junk shop was not far. Though it was not easy to spot considering most of the buildings looked the same. She was able to notice it when she saw spare parts hanging on the walls inside. She imagined in such a small town, there were not many other junk shops. Leia took a breath before entering, not sure if she wanted to meet anyone who could ever condone slavery. But if she wanted to know anything more about her father, this was her best lead. When she let out her breath, she looked to her companions.

“I want you to stay out here again, Hal. You too, 3PO.” Leia said.

“Yes, my lady,” C3PO said.

Leia nodded and walked into the junk shop.

The shop was different from any place she would buy equipment on Coruscant or Alderaan when she was younger. She wondered how many of the spare parts in the shop were stolen. Tatooine had always been ripe with crime. Since the owner of this shop was apparently a slaver, then she didn’t think he would have much respect for other people’s property either.

“Can I help you?” a raspy voice asked from the back of the store.

Leia looked towards the source of the voice. There was a Toydarian hovering by the wall, seemingly adjusting some of the parts hanging there. He wasn’t looking at her despite having asked her a question. She could tell he was older because his wings were fluttering slowly and he was hovering close to the floor, clearly not able to keep himself up very high anymore. His age seemed to be a good indication that he was the one she was looking for.

“Are you Watto?” Leia asked him.

The Toydarian turned to look at her then. “I am,” he said. “What is it you want to buy?”

“Information,” Leia said and stepped towards the counter.

Watto looked taken aback. “What do you want?” He was suspicious now.

Leia leaned forward on the counter. Watto narrowed his eyes at her. Clearly he didn’t like someone he didn’t know coming into his shop asking for information. “There’s someone you used to know. A slave you used to own. I want you to tell me about him.”

Watto flew forward a few feet, his interest piqued. “And what’s in it for me, aye?”

_How the hell did Luke survive this planet?_

“Name your price,” Leia said. She hated having to pay for information.

Watto chuckled. “I want a thousand.”

A ridiculous price, but Leia would pay it. She pulled out the bag of money she had and counted her coins until she had a thousand and put it on the counter. As she did with the Dug, she put her hand over it, wanting the information first.

Watto looked at the money between her fingers. “I used to not accept credits, but things are different now that Jabba is gone…”

“You’ll accept my money,” Leia said sternly. “And you’ll give me what I want.”

Watto muttered something under his breath before flying over and hovering across from her. “What slave do you want to know about?”

“Anakin Skywalker,” Leia told him.

She saw the same look of recognition cross his face that she saw on the Dug. He even leaned back when she said his name.

“What do you want to know about Ani?” Watto asked her.

 _Ani_. That must be what people called him. A nickname. It was strange to know something intimate about him, even if it was something so small.

“I want to know everything you can tell me about him,” Leia said.

Watto shrugged. “I owned him a long time ago,” he said. “I won him in a bet with the Hutts, him and his mother, Shmi. He was young then, two or three maybe.”

“What of his father?” Leia asked.

“He had no father. It was only the two of them. He and his mother worked for me for a few years before that Jedi came along. He took an interest in Ani, so we bet on a pod race. If Ani won, he could go with him. I didn’t think he would win, so I made the bet. But Ani did win, and the Jedi took him away.”

“But not his mother?” Leia asked, hanging on every word.

“No. She stayed with me until I sold her,” Watto said. “Ani came back years later looking for her. He was all grown up and looking like a Jedi, but I had already sold her by then.”

“He came back for her?”

Watto shrugged. “The boy loved his mother. Wanted to free her.”

Anakin loved his mother. Leia was drinking in every piece of information Watto was giving her. “Did he find her?”

“I don’t know what happened,” Watto said. “But I do know she died. Word got around about that. I don’t know if Ani saw her again.”

“What was he like?” Leia found herself leaning even further forward on the counter, completely captured by what he was telling her.

Watto narrowed his eyes at her. “He was just a boy. He was like any boy,” he said, but then tilted his head to the side. “Why do you want to know about him?”

Leia swallowed. She was clearly becoming too eager, and that was making Watto suspicious. “That’s not your concern,” she said. “Now tell me, did he have any friends? Anyone who maybe still lives here?”

“Oh, I don’t know, it was such a long time ago…” Watto trailed off, but Leia could see him looking at her pointedly.

Leia took out her bag of coins, and added another hundred credits to his stack, not wanting to wait on an answer.

Watto smiled. “He did have friends. There were other slave children he played with, but only one has stayed here, as far as I know.”

“And who is that?” Leia asked.

“Kitster Banai,” Watto told her. “He and his wife, Tamora, manage a bar a few blocks that way.” Watto pointed outside of his shop. “The bar is called ‘Tamora’s.’ You can find him there.”

Leia nodded and straightened up after leaning on the counter. “Thank you for your time,” she said and turned around to walk out of the shop.

“He liked to fix things,” Watto’s voice came again from behind her.

Leia stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.

Watto seemed to hesitate before speaking again. “You asked what he was like. Ani…he liked fixing things,” Watto said again. “That’s what he was good at. It’s why I kept him around so long. I even liked having him around. He was a good boy.”

This surprised Leia. Watto’s words told her he had some affection for Anakin, which she hadn’t seen in the rest of their conversation. Despite Anakin being Watto’s slave, he seemed have cared for him in his way.

Leia gave him a small nod. “Thank you,” she said and left the shop. What Watto said about how Anakin liked to fix things, it reminded her of Luke. Luke had always been self-sufficient, wanting to fix anything he found to be broken. It was strange knowing so much more about Anakin in just a few short hours.

“Did you find what you needed, my lady?” Hal asked her when she reached him and C3PO.

“Yes,” Leia told him. “But we need to make another stop. It might be our last one.” She headed off in the direction Watto had told her to go. She may have much more information about Anakin now than she did earlier, but she couldn’t leave until she had covered all the bases. It was one thing to talk to the creature that owned Anakin, but it was another thing completely to talk to someone who was his friend. She wanted to know what a friend to Anakin Skywalker was like, even if he was only his friend when they were children. She was learning about the most innocent time in her father’s life, a time that had clearly been one of hardship.

Leia knew little of the Force. Her father had told her stories about the Jedi and the Force when she was young, and Luke had given her some information in the past months. Despite her limited knowledge, she was already seeing Anakin’s path to the dark side. He had been a slave as a child. That alone was enough to damage someone beyond repair, the feeling of humiliation that came with slavery. Watto told her that Anakin loved her mother, Shmi, and that she had died. That was undoubtedly difficult for him, especially since he came back to free her from slavery. Leia remembered her own feelings when she lost her parents in the destruction of Alderaan. It wasn’t something she liked to dwell on, the overwhelming feeling of loss as her home was destroyed.

Tamora’s wasn’t far, and Leia was starting to feel tired after walking around so much. Before she was pregnant, it took a lot for her to get tired, but pregnancy was taking its toll, and she was acutely aware of the fact that she needed to sit down. When she saw Tamora’s, it was a relief. She didn’t tell Hal and C3PO to stay outside this time. They followed her in and Leia headed straight for the closest bar stool and sat down. Hal sat down next to her and C3PO stood behind her. After a moment, a middle aged humanoid woman with dark, braided hair approached them for drink orders. Leia suddenly realized she was very thirsty.

“What’ll it be?” The woman asked them.

“Just water,” Leia said. The heat was taking its toll on her. She put her hand on her belly, knowing she needed water for not just herself, but her baby too. As if on cue, she felt her baby kick.

“I’ll have the same,” Hal said next to her.

The woman took out two cups and began pouring the water. “I haven’t seen you three around here before,” she said as she finished filling one of the cups. “We don’t get many new people around these parts.” She filled the second cup and placed them in front of Leia and Hal.

Leia picked up her cup and chugged down the water. When she was halfway done, she set her cup down and looked back up at the woman, who was still waiting on them to respond to her statement.

“Are you Tamora?” Leia asked her.

The woman raised an eyebrow. “I am. This is my bar.”

“We’ve been looking for information on someone who used to live here,” Leia told her. Tamora looked curious at this. “I was told your husband would know about him.”

Tamora tilted her head to the side. “Kitster? What makes you think he would know anything?”

“It’s just what I was told,” Leia said. “Is he here? Can I speak with him?”

Tamora nodded. “He’s in the back. I’ll let him know. Wait here.” Tamora turned on her heel and headed to the back of the bar.

Leia’s leg was bouncing up and down in anticipation. Tatooine residents were a suspicious bunch. She didn’t want Kitster to think she had ill intentions. She wanted him to be honest with her when she spoke to him, if he would even come out to meet with her. She brought her cup back up to her mouth, letting the cold water sooth her dry throat. When she put her cup down again, she saw Tamora coming back with a man behind her. Leia’s breath caught in her throat.

The man was middle aged, around the same age as Tamora. His skin was brown and his eyes were dark. His hair had gone almost completely gray, but she imagined when he was young, his hair was as dark as his eyes. He looked stern and rough after a lifetime of hard work. Leia had noticed most people on Tatooine had a similar look, like they had never had a day off in their lives. This man, she knew, was a former slave, so it could only be worse for him.

When Tamora and Kitster reached them, Kitster looked her over. “I was told you wanted to speak with me,” he said to her.

“Yes,” Leia said. She glanced around the bar. There were a lot of people there, possible eavesdroppers. “But is there a place we can talk in private? I don’t want to be overheard.”

Kitster looked at Hal and C3PO, probably wondering if she were someone of importance. “Yeah, we can talk in the back,” he said to her.

Leia let out a breath in relief. She carefully stood up from her stool, trying to keep her balance.

“I’ll be right out here, my lady,” Hal said to her.

She gave him a nod and followed Kitster to the back of the bar. There, he opened a door to his office. She stepped inside and immediately sought the chair in front of his desk. Standing was difficult for her at the moment, and it was as if her baby was restless in her belly as she kept feeling kicks. When she sat down, she put her hand to her stomach, trying to sooth the baby inside. She needed to focus on this conversation, and she couldn’t have her baby kicking the whole time.

Kitster eyed her belly as he moved around to his desk. “Congratulations,” he said as he sat down. He gestured to her belly and she noticed a smile on his lips. “A baby. That’s exciting.”

Leia smiled to herself. It was exciting. “Thank you. Though traveling while pregnant is not easy.”

“I imagine,” Kitster said. “What was your name?”

Leia felt more comfortable with the man already. She was happy to know he wasn’t cold or suspicious. “I’m Leia.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Leia.” Kitster said. “Tamora tells me you want to know about someone from Tatooine,” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands over his lap. “Who might that be?”

Leia sat up straighter in her chair. “Anakin Skywalker,” she told him.

Kitster’s eyebrows shot up and his relaxed position changed. He leaned forward in his chair and a surprised expression washed over his face. “That’s…” he started. He cleared his throat and started again. “I haven’t heard that name in a long time.”

“But you knew him,” Leia urged him on.

“I did,” Kitster said. His expression was changing. He suddenly seemed far away as his eyes wandered around the room, his thoughts drifting back through many years. “He was my best friend.”

Leia heard her breath hitch. It was strange to see someone recollect Anakin with such warmth. “Can you tell me about him?” Leia asked in a small voice.

Kitster’s eyes returned to her face, though he still looked far away. “We were just children when we were friends, but I remember him well,” he told her. “We were both slaves here. Ani belonged to Watto, along with his mother. I don’t know if you know about Watto—”

“I met him,” Leia said. “He’s the one who told me about you.”

“You met Watto?” Kitster asked. “That couldn’t have been pleasant. I’m sure he told you then about the pod race, when Anakin won his freedom.”

“He did,” Leia said.

Kitster smiled fondly at the memory. “No one thought he could do it. He was just a kid, and he never won a race before.” Kitster ran a hand through his gray hair. “I was a part of his pit crew during that race. I helped him win. I was happy for him. He was going to leave and become a Jedi, a hero.”

Leia swallowed and glanced at the floor.

“But when he left, my best friend was gone,” Kitster said quietly. “There were other children, but losing Ani was difficult when I was a boy.” He looked up and met Leia’s eyes. “Ani helped free me from slavery.”

Leia raised her eyebrows. “How did he do that?”

“It was in a roundabout way, but I still couldn’t have achieved it without him,” he told her. “When he won the pod race, there was a large sum of money for the prize. He gave me some of it, and I was able to buy a book on etiquette. I memorized it, cover to cover. With what I learned from that book, I was able to get a job, and eventually I made enough to buy my own freedom.” Kitster smiled warmly. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without Anakin.”

Leia heard her own breathing in her ears, and she tries to keep herself from crying. This man sitting across from her was a free man because of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin had hurt so many people, but this man, he helped free.

“Do you know what happened to his mother?” Leia asked. She knew she had died, but she wanted to know the circumstances.

Kitster’s eyebrows came together and he seemed to be thinking hard. “Watto told you she died?”

“Yes, that I know,” Leia said. “But I want to know how it happened. I was told Anakin came back to free her, but I don’t know if he ever saw her again.”

“Well, I can’t tell you if he ever saw her again,” Kitster said. “But I do remember some of what happened. Shmi was bought from Watto by a farmer. He bought her freedom and he married her. But she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders. That’s how she died. Tusken Raiders sometimes kidnap people and kill them, at least they used to.”

Leia was horrified. Her grandmother had died in such a cruel way. She could only imagine Anakin’s rage when this happened, especially since he came back to Tatooine with the intention to free her.

“That’s…awful,” Leia couldn’t help but say.

“It is,” Kitster said. He looked down at his hands, still clasped in his lap. “Shmi was a good woman. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

Leia felt her baby kicking in her belly again and closed her eyes at the impact. She ran her hand over her belly again.

“Do you know anything about what happened to Anakin?” Leia opened her eyes to look at him. “I mean, after he left Tatooine.”

Kitster tilted his head to the side and looked thoughtful as he eyed her. “He trained to become a Jedi. The Jedi who came here in the first place wanted him to be a Jedi.” He leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. “But all the Jedi are gone now. The Empire made sure of that. Anakin died years ago, when all the Jedi were wiped out.” A sad look came over Kitster’s face.

Leia’s stomach turned, and not because of the baby. “How do you know he died?”

Kitster shrugged, the sad expression still on his face. “All of the Jedi were killed. Anakin must have been killed too.”

Leia looked at the floor again. She couldn’t imagine how this man would react if he knew that his childhood best friend had not died when all the Jedi were killed, but rather, he was the one who hunted down and killed many of them, that he became Darth Vader, the most feared man in the galaxy. Leia knew in her heart that he could not know this. She couldn’t let Kitster’s fond memories of Anakin be tainted.

“May I ask you something?” Kitster asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Leia looked at him again. “Of course. You can ask me anything. You’ve been so helpful.”

Kitster gave her a small smile. “Why are you asking me about Anakin Skywalker?”

This wasn’t the first time she had been asked this question. Watto had asked her the same thing, and she hadn’t given him an answer. As she eyed Kitster, she considered lying to him, or not giving him an answer at all as she did with Watto. But the expression on Kitster’s face when he told her about how Anakin freed him came to her mind. Kitster remembered Anakin with love, and he had been honest with her and didn’t ask her for anything in return. She didn’t think she could bring herself to tell him anything but the truth.

“Anakin…” Leia started and took a breath. “Anakin was my father.”

A startled expression came over Kitster’s face. Clearly that was the last thing he had been expecting. He leaned forward even further in his chair and looked at her face as if he was seeing her for the first time. She imagined this news would be disconcerting. The daughter of his childhood best friend was sitting in front of him.

“You…you’re Ani’s daughter?” he asked her, as if he hadn’t heard her properly.

Leia nodded. “I am.”

Then, to Leia’s shock, a smile spread across his face. He was practically grinning. “Ani had a daughter! I had no idea. I thought the Jedi couldn’t have children—”

“They couldn’t,” Leia told him. “Or rather, they weren’t allowed. I was…” Leia wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. She barely knew anything about the circumstances of her birth. “Well, let’s just say they broke the rules when they had me.”

“So…you never knew Anakin?” Kitster asked.

“No,” she said. She supposed this wasn’t a lie, exactly. She knew Darth Vader, but she never met Anakin.

“I’m so sorry,” Kitster said. “That must be why you’re here. You wanted to know about him.”

Leia nodded. “I only recently found out he was my father,” she said. “I discovered this was his home planet, and it seemed like a good place to start.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m very happy to meet the Anakin’s daughter,” he told her.

Leia brought her eyebrows together. When she found out that Vader was her father, she was mortified. She knew anyone who found out who her father was would have the same reaction. But this man, Kitster, was not meeting the daughter of Darth Vader. He was meeting the daughter of his friend, Anakin Skywalker, and he was happy about it.

“You look like him a little bit,” Kitster commented. “Right here.” He pointed to the space between his eyebrows, and his finger trailed down his nose.

Leia was taken aback. She hadn’t given any thought to how much she looked like Anakin. She didn’t even know what he looked like before he was Vader.

Her baby was kicking again, and Leia pulled her whole arm over her belly and closed her eyes at the discomfort.

“Are you okay?” Kitster asked her, worry apparent in his voice.

Leia opened her eyes. “I’m fine,” she told him. “But I think I should go.”

Kitster stood up from his desk. “Of course. Let me help you.” He came around from his desk and took her arm as he stood up. He led her outside her office and back into the bar. She saw Hal and C3PO standing near the entrance as she approached. When Hal saw her he advanced on them, looking worried.

“Are you alright, my lady?” he asked her.

“I’m fine,” she said. “But I think it’s time for us to go.”

Hal nodded and took her arm.

Leia looked at Kitster, who was still helping her stand. “Thank you so much for all your help,” she said with as much gratitude as she could. “It truly means so much to me.”

Kitster nodded. “It was my pleasure.” He let go over her arm.

Leia kept her eye on him as she walked with Hal out of the bar. Kitster watched her go. Before they stepped outside, Leia gave a final small smile to her father’s childhood best friend.

The heat outside was unbearable. Leia could swear it had gotten even hotter since they went inside the bar. She needed Hal’s help to walk, as her baby was tirelessly kicking in her belly. C3PO was right on her heels, spouting out his worries for her. Leia knew she was fine. This wasn’t the first time it had been difficult for her to walk while pregnant, but it was the first time she was in such an unforgiving environment while pregnant. The ship seemed a million miles away, especially in the heat. She could feel the sweat trickling down her neck and her back. The more they walked, the more she needed to lean on Hal for support. He even offered to carry her at one point, but Leia immediately denied this.

When they finally reached the ship, Leia could have collapsed. She was shocked by her own exhaustion, and wondered if C3PO was right about it not being a good idea for them to come to Tatooine at all. She made her way up into the ship with Hal on her arm, ready for the cool air that awaited them. The ship doors closed behind them as they entered, and Leia was grateful to leave the heat behind.

Leia suddenly stopped at an unfamiliar feeling between her legs. Her legs froze in place and Leia looked down. She saw a wet spot forming in the cloth around her midsection. A sharp pain ripped through her belly and she yelled out as it rippled through her body. Hal’s arms immediately went around her in concern.

“What is it, my lady?” he asked urgently.

“Get this ship back to Coruscant,” Leia cried out. “The baby is coming.”


	5. Deliver

A boy. A baby boy with dark hair and pink cheeks. His eyes were blue for now, though Leia knew babies always had blue eyes when they were first born. She wondered color her baby’s eyes would turn out to be. Han’s eyes were blue, maybe he would keep his father’s eyes, or they could turn out to be brown like hers. Right now his defining feature was his dark hair.

  
Leia leaned over the crib to look closer at her son. His eyes were closed and she could see the rise and fall of his chest as he slept. He was only three days old but already very well behaved. He slept often and barely made any noise, the opposite of what she had been expecting. She recalled her own parents telling her she was quite a handful when she was a baby. Though her son still had plenty of time to follow in her footsteps.

  
The delivery was scary. Leia hadn’t realized how nervous she was about having the baby until the time came for her to deliver. Hal and C3PO had returned her to Coruscant after their trip to Tatooine as quickly as they could. They got a message out to Han and Luke, both of them raced back to Coruscant to meet them. They brought her to the medcenter. Hal had to carry her inside. By then, the pain was excruciating. Leia took whatever the doctors and medical droids gave her. Han took almost an hour to arrive, but Leia heard him coming long before he entered her room. She heard a door burst open from down the hall, and the sound of boots hitting the floor at a full sprint. She had smiled to herself as she heard his voice bellowing out.

  
“I’m looking for Leia Organa!” he had shouted, Leia presumed at one of the staff. “What room is she in?” Chewbacca’s roar sounded through the hall and Leia realized he was with Han.

  
Leia didn’t hear the response, but a minute later, Han burst into her room, Chewbacca right behind him. There were doctors on both sides of her, but Han made his way through and took her hand. He was sweaty and scared, but Leia could see excitement on his face too.

  
“Hey, sweetheart,” he had said to her. “You didn’t think you were gonna do this without me, did you?”

  
Leia smiled. “Not a chance.”

  
Her contractions started coming again then, and the doctors told her she was going to need to start pushing. She heard Han bark out at Chewie to wait outside, and Leia did feel scared then. The baby was coming. She and Han were going to be parents. She was going to bring a possible Force user into this galaxy. She had never felt less prepared for anything in her life.

  
The actual delivery was a blur in her mind. She recalled squeezing Han’s hand so hard she thought she was going to break his fingers. She remembered his voice, trying to give her comfort through the pain. She screamed and cursed through the whole thing, wanting the pain to end. Later, she was told that the delivery took six hours. It had felt both longer and shorter than that. It felt like she was delivering the baby for days, but it was also such a blur that it could have been twenty minutes.

  
Through her pain, the doctors’ yammering, and Han’s words in her ear, the clearest sound she had ever heard rang out. A cry. A baby’s cry broke through all the noise and for a moment, her mind was crystal clear. The cry brought her back to the real world. Slowly, Leia looked down over her body. One of the doctor’s was holding her baby. She saw then that it was a boy. His eyes were closed and he was crying. It may have been a cry, but it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

  
_Ben_. That was her last thought before she succumbed to exhaustion.

  
It wasn’t until hours later when Leia woke up again. Her thoughts were on her baby right away. She wanted to see him. The first thing she saw was Han. He was standing with his back to her.

  
“Hey…” Leia croaked out. Her voice sounded tired in her own ears.

  
Han turned around and Leia saw him. He was holding their baby in his arms. Han was a big man and their baby looked so tiny in his long arms. She couldn’t help but smile at that. The baby was sleeping.

  
“You’re awake,” Han said, moving to sit in the chair next to her bed. “How are you feeling?”

  
“Like I just gave birth,” Leia said. It was true. Her legs and her entire midsection were sore.

  
“Well I’m glad you’re awake,” Han said. “But you’ve got some catching up to do. Little Ben here and I have bonded. I think I’m his favorite parent already.”

  
Leia chuckled. “We’ll see how long that lasts.” She held out her hands. “Give him to me.”

  
Han smiled and leaned over her so he could carefully place their baby in her arms. Leia did her best not to wake him. This was her first time ever holding a baby. When Han moved back, Leia looked at the baby in her arms. He was wrapped in a white cloth, only his small face was revealed. He was so small, even in her arms. Leia found herself smiling without thinking.

  
“Ben,” Leia said quietly. “I’m glad we chose that name.” She stroked a piece of hair off of the baby’s forehead.

  
“Well, you didn’t think Chewbacca was suitable so…” Han said.

  
“Don’t be silly,” Leia said and looked at him. “Ben was your idea.”

  
The corner of Han’s mouth turned up. “It seemed appropriate.”

  
Leia nodded and looked back down at Ben. Then she suddenly remembered something. “Is Luke here?” Leia turned back to Han.

  
Han nodded. “Yeah. He, Lando, and Chewie have been waiting outside. They didn’t want to see the baby before you were awake. Well, Luke didn’t. Lando and Chewie weren’t as patient.”

  
“You can let them in,” Leia said. “One at a time though. I want to see Luke.” She was too exhausted to have Lando, Chewie, Luke, and Han in one room together.

  
Han nodded and left the room for a few moments before coming back in with Luke right behind him. Luke’s eyes went straight to the bundle in Leia’s arms and he smiled. He passed Han and set in the chair next to her.

  
Leia smiled warmly at him. “Luke, meet Ben, your nephew.”

  
Luke’s eyes met hers. Leia may have only recently found out that Luke was her brother, but he had always been like family, and she was happy that her son would have Luke as an uncle.

  
A smile was growing on Luke’s face as he looked back at Ben. “He’s beautiful, Leia,” he said. “I’m so happy for you.”

  
“Would you like to hold him?” Leia asked.

  
Luke swallowed and suddenly looked nervous. “I-I’ve never held a baby before.”

  
“It’s okay,” Leia said. “This was my first time too. Just be careful and mind his head.”

  
Luke looked at the baby in her arms and nodded. He reached for the baby and Leia helped as Luke scooped Ben up in his arms. She could tell he was being very careful. His hands were gentle and his eyes weren’t leaving the baby’s face. After a moment, he started swaying back and forth, as if he was rocking him.

  
“You’re a natural,” Han said as he came up behind him. He put an arm on Luke’s shoulder and looked down at his son.

  
Luke smiled. “I never thought I’d get to be an uncle.” He chuckled. “The benefits of having a secret sister I guess.”

  
Leia could have cried at the sight of the two of them standing there. Han with his hand on Luke’s shoulder looking fondly at his son, and Luke rocking the baby back and forth with a smile on his face.

  
Luke stayed with them for a few more minutes before he decided that Lando and Chewie were probably getting impatient. Chewie came in next. He almost roared with excitement when he saw the baby, but Han quickly hushed him, not wanting the baby to wake up. Chewie kept his roars quiet from then on. Seeing Chewie hold her baby was one of the sweetest sights Leia had seen in a long time. Chewie was bigger than any human. Part of her didn’t like Ben being so far from the ground, but she knew Chewie would never drop him. Han named him “Uncle Chewie” and Chewie gave a quiet, appreciative roar at that.

  
Lando was not happy about being the last one to get to see the baby, but his impatience quickly turned to joy when he saw Ben. By then, the baby had woken up, but was not crying, but rather stirring awake. Leia was happy with the timing because Lando couldn’t contain his excitement and had many things to say. “I can’t believe _Han Solo_ actually has a baby! We better hope he takes after his mother, or he’ll drive you both insane.” Leia had already decided that Lando was going to be the fun uncle she’d have to look out for. Lando was already spinning around the room with Ben in his arms, always careful, but not containing his excitement. He was talking enthusiastically to the baby already. “I’m gonna tell you so many embarrassing stories about your dad when you’re old enough to hear them. I’ll teach you how to fly because, I’ll let you in on a secret, your daddy learned everything he knows from me.”

  
Once it seemed like Ben was getting tired again, Han ushered Lando out the door. Leia was grateful for the quiet again, but she was also happy to have three people here who were excited for her and willing to help her with Ben.

  
She stayed in the hospital for another day before they let her go. She and Han went back to her apartment with their baby. In the past months, they had set up a nursery in one of the extra bedrooms. It was ready and waiting for them when they arrived. C3PO had made all the preparations while she was in the hospital.

  
Now, on the baby’s third day, Leia was leaning over his crib. It was late at night, but she always preferred to stay with him. He often needed to be fed in the middle of the night anyway.

  
Something else was plaguing her though. She felt it ever since she first heard him cry. She wondered if Luke sensed it too. The Force. Leia’s own skill with the Force was minimal. It wasn’t something she understood. But she had used it more than once and she was certain of one thing. Her son had it. She felt the Force radiating off of him like a beacon of light. He was of course only a baby. Nothing would come of it for a while, but she knew that would not last. Eventually she was going to have to make a decision.

  
From the moment she found out she was pregnant, she knew it was likely that her baby would have the Force, but part of her had been hoping that the baby would take after Han, and she wouldn’t be in this position. The Force was dangerous. The dark side was always a threat. She hated that her son would be in that kind of danger, but she also knew that his power could do a lot of good if she chose to let Luke train him. It was too much to think about.

  
Leia heard the door open behind her. She knew it was Han. She felt his presence. He took a few steps forward and she felt his arms wrap around her. He rested his chin on her head. In these moments, she liked how much taller he was than her. When he held her like this, she felt safe. She melted into his embrace, placing her hands on his arms and closing her eyes.

  
“Are you coming to bed?” he asked quietly so as to not wake Ben.

  
Leia shook her head. “I like being with him.”

  
“You have to sleep.”

  
“He’ll wake up and need feeding,” Leia told him. “It’s easier if I stay until then. I promise I’ll come to bed after.”

  
She felt him nod. “I’ll stay up with you.”

  
They stood in silence for a few minutes, wrapped up in each other. Leia thought that if she could ever sleep while standing up, it would have been standing there in Han’s arms. They were both looking at their son, watching the rise and fall of his chest.

  
“With any luck, he’ll take after you,” Han whispered into her hair.

  
Leia bit the inside of her cheek. “Boys usually take after their fathers.”

  
“The last thing this galaxy needs is another Solo running around causing trouble,” Han said.

  
“You’re right,” Leia chuckled. “Now it’ll be an Organa-Solo.”

  
“I like the sound of that.” Han brought his face closer to hers so his lips were at her ear. “Though I’d prefer it if he was more interested in politics than smuggling.”

  
“It’ll be a few years before we find that out,” Leia said. “And aren’t children more likely to do whatever their parents don’t want them to do?”

  
“Good point,” Han said. “I’ll encourage him to be a smuggler, and then he’ll go into politics like you instead.”

  
Leia wished their son would grow up to be a politician like her, but with the Force so strong in him, she had no idea what his future held. She was starting to feel guilty for not telling Han. There was no way he could see what she saw in their son. She was going to have to tell him. She gently tugged at his arms to ask him to let go. He dropped his hands and she turned around to look at him.

  
“Let’s sit down,” Leia said. They had two chairs in the nursery, and she was starting to feel tired of standing anyway.

  
Leia sat down in a chair and Han sat down next to her. He didn’t seem to realize that she wanted to talk about something, and Leia wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear it.

  
“Han, do you remember what we talked about a few months ago?” she asked him. “About our baby and if…if he would have…” Leia swallowed. “The Force?”

  
Han stared at her for a moment before nodding. They did have this conversation months ago. Han had known that she had the Force when she told him about Luke being her brother. But when she talked about the possibility of their child having it too, the thought clearly hadn’t crossed his mind. They had decided to wait until the baby was born before worrying about it, but Leia got the feeling that it had been on Han’s mind just as much as it had been on hers.

  
“Ben…he has it,” Leia told him. “I can feel it.”

  
Han looked at the floor. He didn’t look surprised. She couldn’t read his expression. “I knew it would happen,” he said. “You have it, and so does Luke. It only makes sense that our baby would have it too.”

  
“We don’t have to make any decisions right now,” Leia said. “But it is important that you know. One day, we will have to decide what to do about it.”

  
“What do you mean?” Han asked and looked at her again.

  
Leia swallowed. “I have never trained with the Force. Not everyone who has it has to train. Our son doesn’t have to either.” Leia scanned his face. He wasn’t giving anything away. “Or he could train with Luke, and learn how to use it.”

  
Han let out a breath and looked back at the crib. “That’s…a big decision.”

  
“I know, and that’s why I’m saying we don’t have to decide right now,” Leia said. She put an arm on his shoulder. She could tell that all of this was unnerving to him. “I just wanted to let you know.”

  
“I’m glad you did,” Han said. “It’s better that I know now rather than later.”

  
Leia sighed. Once again Han surprised her with how understanding he was. She just dropped a bomb on him and he took it in stride. She wasn’t sure how he was able to handle everything she put on him.

  
As they sat there together in silence, they both heard a cry. Ben was stirring in his crib, making small cries. They both stood up and went to him. His eyes were open and Leia knew right away what he needed. She picked up her son and brought him close. She felt Han’s eyes on her and she unbuttoned her shirt and guided their baby to her breast. He had already proved to be a good eater, but Leia was still getting used to the way it felt. She rocked him up and down a bit as he ate.

  
Han came closer to her and put his arm around her. She leaned into him and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

  
“We’ll figure this out,” he whispered.


End file.
